Opinion
Case No. 1:17CR00020-12
08-20-2018
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. SHAWANNA PHIPPS, Defendant.
Shawanna Phipps, Pro Se Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
Shawanna Phipps, Pro Se Defendant.
The defendant, Shawanna Phipps, a federal inmate sentenced by this court, proceeding pro se, has filed a motion seeking a judicial recommendation that she be placed in a residential re-entry center (also known as a halfway house) for twelve months preceding her release. For the following reasons, the motion will be denied.
On February 26, 2018, Phipps was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 120 months for her conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
I decline to recommend that the BOP amend the manner in which the defendant serves her sentence. The BOP has exclusive statutory authority over a prisoner's place of imprisonment. 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b); see also United States v. Swisher, No. 3:11-CR-67 (BAILEY), 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40190, at *1 (N.D. W.Va. Mar. 22, 2013). While the Second Chance Act expands the BOP's authority to place prisoners in a halfway house, it does not vest that authority in this court. 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)(1); see also United States v. Squire, No. 3:09-502-JFA, 2012 WL 3848364, at *1 (D.S.C. Sept. 5, 2012). The BOP has sole discretion in deciding whether to place a prisoner in a halfway house, and if so, for how long. See Woodall v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 432 F.3d 235, 251 (3d Cir. 2005) (holding that the BOP must analyze the five factors in § 3621(b) and "that the BOP may assign a prisoner to [a halfway house] does not mean that it must"). I believe that the BOP is in the best position to make this determination without advice from the court.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the defendant's motion (ECF No. 665) is DENIED.
ENTER: August 20, 2018
/s/ James P. Jones
United States District Judge